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The best poutine in Toronto takes three humble, basic ingredients - fries, cheese curds, and gravy - and transmutes them into sloppy, melty, drunk-food magic. The Quebecois staple has become a bona fide food trend here in the city, colliding with everything from chicken wings to Japanese food to pizza. Purists prefer to savour the flavours of hand-cut potatoes, squeaky curds and slow-simmered gravy unadorned; I say there's room for everyone.

The best indoor swimming pools in Toronto allow you to splish-splash all year round, whether you're opting to keep fit with some lane swimming or would rather just frolic with friends and family. While some of you may choose to just drop in on one of the public pools where leisurely swims are usually free (and lane swimming tends to be $3.50), others may wish purchase a membership at a club to receive additional services - whatever floats your boat.

The best shawarma in Toronto is a product of patience - meat is built on a spit, then marinated at length and finally slowly roasted as juices drip down to coat and caramelize its exterior. Whether you get your shawarma piled into a platter or wrapped up into a sandwich is your call, but of course it's the meat that makes this dish, no matter how many pickled turnips or squirts of garlic sauce are applied to accentuate it.

The best salvage and reclaimed furniture in Toronto give battered, time-worn items new life. That's not to say they're restored to their former glory - when it comes to barn wood or century-old baseboards, these shops are careful to leave that glorious, beaten-in patina perfectly intact.

The best Pakistani restaurants in Toronto deal in complex curries, flavourful rice dishes, succulent char-grilled kebabs and the other staples of the South Asian diet. Menus at these eateries share similarities with cuisines from neighbouring India and Afghanistan - while many are also regionally specific and marvellously distinct and diverse.

The best antique stores in Toronto are the perfect places to dig for not-so-buried treasure. Whether you're looking for furniture, an accent piece, some antique hardware or an elusive collectible, these stores have done the legwork for you, sorting through countless relics to dig up antique gold. (Of course, there's plenty of hunting for you left to do, but that's all part of the fun.)